Martin Luther King’s Inspiring Spirit Lives On

 Although I was familiar with the name Martin Luther King, Jr. during my teenage years in Ethiopia, I vaguely had a full understanding of either the man’s fascinating story or the level of his greatness.

I said vaguely because I still remember his story instilled in me by my US educated Ethiopian school teacher who was enormously saddened by his death and telling us his painstakingly fighting spirit for justice for black people in America. That understanding came to me, when I left my homeland because of political upheaval & uncertainty, during my school years while attending an American college.

When I was a young student, I had always been interested in reading and writing, I began to read many of Dr. King’s collections of speeches and writings. I have recorded every one of his documentaries, lest we forget VCRs, whenever shown on TV. Today, thanks to changes in technology, his speeches are easily found on YouTube. I love watching him speak from time to time to rejuvenate my hope and aspirations to go on in life without feeling overwhelmed by the difficulties in succeeding life’s challenges without disappointment. I also enjoyed reading every single of his prolific writings remarkably Letter from a Birmingham Jail & My Dear Fellow Clergymen by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I still remember the striking effect Dr. King’s 1963 letter had on my school teacher who was so grieved by his sudden death and millions attended the rally as I read it for the first time. It was an eye-opening document that put before me the suffering, humiliation, and struggle that African-Americans had to endure in order to attain justice, equality, and civil rights which I never knew.

The eloquence of the letter and its sobering content were simply captivating. I often read it again and again, as if Dr. King was speaking to me directly: “I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial “outside agitator” idea”.

Incredibly, I felt the letter was addressed to me and, at the same time, to every individual in every part of the world. I never anticipated that I would identify with Dr. King’s message so closely with such intensity. The letter prompted me to recall the reason so many of the diaspora Ethiopians and I abandoned the chronic political turmoil and persecutions in our own country and several people in many African nations. It provoked me to ponder on the grimness of life for African children and the unspeakable human rights violations that governments commit against their own people.

Nevertheless, like Dr. King, I tried to maintain an optimistic outlook as he did in the closing remarks of his extraordinary letter: “Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty”.

I felt, Dr. King’s, closing remarks should serve as cautionary words to a world that chose to focus on differences rather than the fundamental similarities of the human race.

Dr. King’s writings inspired me to read more about him and his brilliant leadership of the Civil Rights Movement and motivated me to do my part in my own community wherever I went. Dr. King’s speech “I Have a Dream” which was delivered on August 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., that transformed American society and the world, remains my all-time favorite. The speech, I realize, has been the subject of numerous books, articles, and documentaries.

It is simply one of the most fascinating, thoughtful, and emotionally rousing speeches of modern times. I would not be surprised if it is one of the most quoted speeches in the world. I Have a Dream also has a universal appeal that speaks truth to all people of every nationality. Every time I watch videos of the speech or read its texts, I get goose-bumps, teary & feel something so profound that is very difficult to articulate. I Have a Dream, indeed, is a highly inspiring speech that gives tremendous hope to all people who are languishing under the brutal rules of wicked oppressors, ruthless dictators & discriminators.

As we observe the forty-seventh anniversary of Dr. King’s historical speech, may all of us be mindful of the human understanding and connection that Martin Luther King, Jr. strived to nurture throughout his life. Like all great speeches, the powerful message that he successfully transmitted through I Have a Dream is applicable today, to all people.

Let us recognize the fact that, with faith and determination, people around the world, to use Dr. King’s own words, “will be able to transform the jangling discords” of their nations “into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.”

Martin Luther King had a phenomenal dream.

LET’S WORK ON OURS COLLECTIVELY.